What Made Us, Us
---- As a child, your parents are there to love and protect you, and if they are gone for some reason then someone else is given as a guardian to see you grow. For this reason, seven-year-old Sterling couldn't figure out why his parents gave him and his sister such a blank stare while they struggled in the arms of the burly men trying to pull them out the doors. Silver was scratching, biting, and kicking at anything she could and Sterling was pretty sure this guy wouldn't be a father anytime soon. Meanwhile, he tried squirming and wriggling, expanding and relaxing his body to loosen the man's hold, but it didn't work. A third person set a briefcase on their table, the same table they ate breakfast at together every morning now soiled by the memory of what was in that case. Money. Sterling had no idea how much, but he did understand that they had been sold. "Take me!" Silver screeched, her young legs kicking frantically. "Don't take Ster! Mom! Dad! Why won't you stop them!" The young woman screamed, her red eyes gleaming with passion. She was the exact opposite of her twin in every way. Though they were born on the same day their appearance and personalities were nothing alike, but the twins wouldn't have it any other way. "Get. Away!" Their parents remained expressionless, only moving to count the money. Sterling felt the cold bit of metal chains wrapping around his wrists and let out the smallest whimper when he was chucked into a dog crate, separated from his sister. He wouldn't cry though because he had to remain strong for his sister. Silver was his everything now so he must protect her. It turned out they had been sold as lab rats. Some underground organization was gathering up twins, linking their brains, and performing all sorts of experiments on one to see how it affected the other. Twins were more compatible than just siblings due to some chemical and biological stuff that Sterling couldn't understand. Their 'doctor' was a chatty creep who explained everything in detail on the walk to their lab room, including what he had done to his last 'patients'. The boy held it until the skin ripping part before getting violently ill and vomiting on the man's shoes. This resulted in a kick to his small face that sent him flying as far as the chains let him and left blood streaming from nose and mouth. "Oooohhhh ho ho ho! You're volunteering to be my next subject, hmm? I can't wait to see red on that pale skin, maybe even in that light little head of hair you have. How lovely it would suit you. Those brown eyes of yours do not, though... maybe we'll have to remove them," the man leered. Silver struggled against her chains and spit at the man. "Pick on someone your own size!" She shouted bravely though she was much smaller than the man. The young woman would do anything she could to protect her brother, even sacrificing her own sanity to save him. "Oh don't worry, Princess," he cackled at her small size as he stroked her chin,"you'll be feeling plenty of pain too. Everything he goes through will project on you somehow... I'm not even sure what the results will be! Isn't it exciting?" He clapped his hands to gather, yanked Sterling up, and continued to a room labeled 'Danger Experimentation Zone' on the door. They weren't given any time to adjust, just thrown on tables and bound down. Sterling reached for Silver and just barely managed to hook fingertips since their tables had to be in close proximity for the test. He cleared his throat and managed to work his face into a smile, even if it looked as though he was on the verge of crying. "You'll be okay Silv. I promise I won't let them touch you with whatever they have, alright?" He assures, trying to remain optimistic. "Ster. I'll be alright. I'll protect you." She could feel the warmth in his fingertips, so unfamiliar from the cold she loved but equally as comforting. She remembered when he was younger and had to drag her out of snowbanks before she got hypothermia. He was the only warmth in her life and she loved it. "I'll do anything to keep you safe." Sterling opened his mouth but didn't have time to say anything as a blade plunged into his chest. There was no initial feeling until it was ripped downward and he let out a shrieking sob. A syringe full of cloudy white liquid was injected into his arm and allowed to spread during surgery. Meanwhile, other doctors began linking Silver's brain to her brother's with wires that they stuck to her forehead. Sterling felt hands moving inside of his chest and turned away from his sister to vomit again. Something cold and entirely unwelcome was nestled below his ribcage. Ice rippled through his veins and into his heart, stopping it cold for a moment until the injection kicked in. The ice melted, but the frigid air seeped into his lungs, burning them with each forced inhale. "Tell us when you feel something sweetheart," A young female nurse told Silver. She looked like she was meant to be a loving mother, not a psychopathic scientist. The doctor's held their breath to see how she would respond as Sterling was being sewed up. "You bastards." She breathed through gritted teeth. The pain was unbearable but she wouldn't let them know she was hurting. "Stop tormenting him like that. I'll kill you!" Ethernano particles started to manifest and were quickly absorbed into the navy aura that started to surround Silver's body as the strength of her emotions began to manifest into magic. Sterling's body was beginning to change. His lungs expanded and the blue was leaving his lips as the Snow God Slayer lacrima went into action. He could control the cold inside of him in his mind - his body, already weak to the point of near collapse, was immobile - but the cold he released was beyond his power. Ice spidered across the glass and snow began to drift down, gathering on the frozen floor. Sterling's harsh breathing was the only one that didn't emit a small puff of white air. The temperature decrease was cracking glass and causing the normally bright lights to flicker and fade. A scientist injects a vibrant orange liquid into Sterling, some sort of fire counterbalance, but it was stopped cold by the icy blood in the pale boy's veins. One man moved towards Silver, unhooking her arms from the table as murmuring of escaping the room before the doors froze shut hummed through shivering lips. Cold seeped into Silver's system and she struggled to escape the room, but it was stiffly locked. "Help! Help!" Her muscles froze, everything was cold and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. "Sterling! Please! Stop it! You're hurting me!" The frost crept up her body and a chill set in. "Please... Ster." He tried to listen to Silver's voice but he was drifting too far out and wouldn't have the experience necessary to control the frigid magic anyways. His head felt filled with a jelly-like substance and concentration was impossible. He tried to mumble out an 'I'm so sorry, Silver' but it came out as estranged noises. Silver's aura exploded, coating her body in a protective layer of black ice. She limped to her feet and began banging on the door that kept them in. "Turn the heat on! He's going to die!" She screeched; the tears that fell from her face immediately turned to ice, creating clear streaks through the black ice surrounding her head. What they turned on in the room was not in fact the heat, but instead they pumped in a colorless gas with a sickeningly sweet scent. The twins started to feel woozy and it didn't take long for Sterling's already exhausted mind to conk out in sleep. The less mentally stressed Silver lasted longer before she too succumbed to the gas. When Sterling awoke, his face was pressed against the floor, shoulders dropped low to it as well with knees tucked underneath him. He tried getting up but his arms were locked to his sides in a chain heavy straight jacket. The young boy rolled onto his back so he could, at least, see where he was and if Silver was there. Warm brown eyes were greeted by a harsh fluorescent burning into them. They slammed shut and he let out a whimper, the small sound surprisingly loud it what he didn't know to be an empty room. Silver's breath filled the room as she awoke. Pain. All she felt was pain. Her hands were shackled high above her head while her legs were bolted to the floor. Pain. She couldn't tell if it was it was from the cold, or the bruises and scrapes that covered her skin. One of her legs was broken, the bone jutting out though the blood had been frozen solid by the chill in the room. "Silver... Siiiilllvvvveeeerrrr," Sterling groaned, trying to see if his sister was alive. "Silver where are you? Where's my sister?" He was beginning to panic when no one answered him, but when the cold that seeped through his veins tried to roll of his skin, it came to a painful stop in his pores. The next groan stemmed from that but even as his body grew colder, though he didn't feel it, the room around him remained unchanged. "Sterling." Her voice cracked as she spoke his name. "I'm alright. You'll be fine too." She lied easily, it was better for him to think she was okay then feel even more pain. "I'll get you out of this. Please; just hang on." "Silver... did I do this? Why am I locked up?" he asked. He was too out of it to recognize the lie and too pained to see it for himself. "How are we supposed to get out?" "I-I don't know." She could feel her own magic running through her veins but she didn't know how to use it. If she did, she would protect him. "I will be here. You'll be alright. I'll be alright. We will go back and see mom and dad together." "I don't want to see them ever again, not after what they did," he spits out, voice cold with rage. He throws his shoulders up and brings up his knees, rocking until the momentum rolls him into a sitting position. His eyes cracked open just the slightest to find her and he shuffled over on his knees. Sitting back down with legs tucked underneath him, Sterling continued, "The sold us for money Silv... they probably don't want us back." Silver was shocked by his cold words, but they made sense. "I know... But I love you Sterling, I can be the family you need." She smiled feebly, trying to block out the pain that filled her system. "You're the only family I need," he said, plopping his head down on her shoulder. Though her body is radiating cold from the escaping magic, Sterling says, "You feel warm... are you sick?" "You're just cold Sterling." Silver said in a sleepy tone, then it struck her. "Ster.. are you alright? You're. You're so cold..." "Hmm? I feel like I always do, are you sure you're not over heating or something?" he asks. He's telling the truth, his body feels normal except for the pulsating pain he can't figure the origins of. Maybe the scientist people messed up or maybe it was slow acting, these were all thoughts that ran through his mind but were nowhere near the answer. "No.. I'm freezing." She replied. It scared her, being cold was something that was unfamiliar. She had never felt cold, until yesterday when Sterling froze her. Silver couldn't bring herself to tell him what he had done. Sterling squeezed his eyes shut and fluttered them all the way open. His brows furrowed as he looked as his sister, looking for the tell-tale signs of sickness. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of her bruised, broken body, the limbs skewed out at odd angles. That hadn't been like that before and the scientists had wanted to see how Sterling would effect Silver so this had to have been something he had done. His eyes grew impossibly large and his mouth fell into a silent 'O' of horror at the thought. His next statement was no question and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. "Silv... I hurt you. This is my fault." "No. No. No. It's alright Sterling. I'm fine." Her voice cracked. She wasn't going to lose him too. She loved him too much, if she had to be beaten, she would gladly do it again. "It'll heal. I'll be better in no time! Just you watch!" Sterling shook his head, struggling against his anti-magic straight jacket. A string of no's tumble from his mouth as an aura builds, one too strong to be contained by the bindings. The room turned cold, but Sterling was more in control this time. He imagined making a snowball in his mind, imagined gathering up the chilling powder, packing it together, and lobbing it at the door. What hit the door was a brutal blast of ice and snow. He did it again and again and again until the door squeaked and groaned, and finally fell down. Eyes flicking to Silver's chains, he thought about them getting colder and colder, not touching Silver, but freezing them to the point of being brittle. He could do nothing about his own bindings, but he would free his sister. The chains burst and Silver fell to the ground. Her own aura rushed out in a response to his and it seemed to come naturally to her. She stood shakily and stumbled over to Sterling, her fingers fumbling to under the buckles that confined him. After she freed him from the jacket she whispered hoarsely "Support me. I can't walk properly." Getting to his feet as quickly and as steadily as possible, Sterling threw Silver's arm over his shoulder and wrapped one of his own around his sister's waist to keep her upright. He didn't know where her sudden magic had come from, but now was not the time to ask as they were essentially escaping from a prison. "Do you know where we are?" he asked, having been passed out himself. "No." She replied, and the usual fire in her eyes returned and she mumbled. "But I'll get you out no problem." They inched through a hallway, attempting to find an exit. A form appeared and mumbled under their breath. "Shit.." their voice raised, "The prisoners escaped!" The wizard brandished a glowing ring which covered their arm in light. "Don't make me hurt you kids. Give in now." Silver outstretched her free hand and a large magic seal appeared. "Ice.." She said looking at it. She had always felt a connection to ice, but she never imaged she would have magic. "Ice..." she repeated again, then it came to her. "Ice-Make: Fist!" A large fist of ice burst out of the seal and made contact with the scientist, thrusting him backward into a wall. "Holy fudge Silv! Since when could you do that?" He asked, eyes wide in surprise. "That guy just raised the alarm and I have no idea what I'm doing... but you might be able to control your aim at least. Hold on okay?" He lifted his sister to his side to carry her and allow her hands to be free. One arm supported her back while the other made adjustments for her broken leg so she wouldn't fall. Taking a few test steps forward, Sterling deemed himself able to carry his sister and began to run. "I'm going to be picking hallways at random here so just freeze anybody who gets in the way. Going right seems right." "Okay.." Silver said and her eyebrows furrowed. She concentrated on sending lances made of ice out of the ever-constant magic seal. She didn't know what she was doing, nor how she could do it but it worked. "Ster. Keep going on. I don't know how long I can make these ice things appear but, we've got to go." Sterling ran, lungs burning and arms only keeping his sibling up through the adrenaline that pulsed through his veins. He had no path, no escape map, just a strong desire to get them out and a lot of prayers and wishes muttered through clenched teeth. Hairpin turns caused them to change course and befuddled their pursuers a little more, but the twin's luck soon ran out. A long corridor ended in a chain-locked, heavy duty door and footsteps pounded behind them. The chill seeping into the brother's bones wasn't from either of the Kasumi's magic, but rather the thought that they were going to be caught and chained up like animals once again. This time, the scientists would be cautious and they would experiment to their heart's desire... or the children's deaths. A small whisper of: "Oh butternuts" rushed out of Sterling as the door grew closer. "Ster. Don't worry." Silver slipped out of his grasp and onto the ground, placing her icy hands on the ground. "Ice-Make: Wall!" A wall of black ice shot up underneath the scientists, separating the twins from their pursuers. "I don't understand it. But I don't think I can do anything more. It's up to you." Sterling was panicking. The scientists were beating on the ice to try to break it, Silver was out ideas, and both of them were left with frigid powers they couldn't control. It was all this stupid place's fault, especially the darn door that still held, locked tight even as the young boy pushed and pulled with all his might. Anger began creeping through his veins, but Sterling had never been the type to have explosive, fiery anger. Instead, his rage was frozen and calculating, but as he stared that door down he couldn't help the emotion the built up in his chest until his lungs and heart felt ready to burst. An ear-splitting shriek rang through the compound though it wasn't entirely the male's voice. A barrage of ice and snow pummeled the door for a moment before the metal ripped open, adding to the shrill noise of the dream. Sterling stood there, surprised, before scrunching up his face and spitting an ice shard onto the floor. Realizing they had an escape method, he turned to Silver with a hopeful face and offered her his hand once more. Once Silver was supported by Sterling again the pair started their journey through the frozen wastelands of Iceberg. The lab wasn't near any of the cities, meaning that there was no chance of rescue unless the twins made it through the unforgiving cold of their homeland. "Sterling. It hurts..." She moaned. After using all of her magic power she was exhausted and her leg didn't help. The pain was throbbing and came in waves, every time it hit, Silver drifted farther away from consciousness. "Why us..?" She whispered again, a sound that could barely be heard above the howling wind. "What did we do?" "It wasn't anything that we did, Silv. It was the deal our parents made with the Devil to satisfy their earthly desires that landed us in this situation. Had greed not clouded their minds, we would still be together as a bigger family. But we don't need a big family when we have each other, right? We can still take on the world like we've always wanted, just earlier than we had expected." He comforted with a smile. He felt broken inside, hollow and cold, but he didn't have time to fall apart when his sister needed him to be strong. This wasn't something that two seven-year-olds should have to deal with, but here they were: a bruised, broken girl and a little boy with a ripped open and hastily sewn together again chest, braving a frozen landscape to their front to escape the lunatics behind them. "I'll get us out of here... okay? Just stay awake or you could drift off and never wake up. Mom called it hypothermia, I think. Can I move you? I think I can piggyback you around for awhile." When Silver nodded her consent, Sterling lifted her onto his back and began to move forward again. He wanted as much space as he could get from the lab. The Kasumi twins had no idea what lay ahead for them in the future, but they did know one thing; they knew that they were free. And they knew they had each other to rely on like they always have. That's all they have ever needed. Category:Roleplay Category:QOS Roleplay